The average salary of a local university graduate in Singapore in 2021 is $3,800, and the median price of a four-bedroom HDB flat or larger is $456,500.

The house price to income ratio in 2021 is 4.98, which means that a home is affordable if it is not more than five times the annual household income.

With a 3% salary increase, the ratio in 2022 would be 4.86, which is more affordable.

Dr Ching Tin Fu, professor of real estate at the NUS Business School, said, "They have remained within a reasonable range of variation over the past 20 years, so it is more likely that HDB flats are more affordable than resale HDB flats because they are subsidised by the government and the prices have remained relatively stable."

In non-mature locations such as Tengah, Choa Chu Kang, Punggol and Sengkang, the price to income ratio has remained stable over the past seven years.

Similarly, the price to income ratios for three- and four-bedroom HDB flats in mature locations have remained stable over the past seven years.

However, the price to income ratio for five-bedroom flats has increased from 6.6 to 7.44, making it less affordable for young people.

I think the main reason for this is that not many five-bedroom HDB flats are being built and demand is outstripping supply, as most new BTO homes are four-bedroom and there are fewer five-bedroom homes," said ERA Industries president Chu Wing-keung.

Despite this, Toa Payoh, also in an established area, has seen its house price to income ratio slip from a high of 5.99 in November 2020 to 5.21 in May 2022.

Experts believe this has to do with the proximity of pre-built projects to MRT stations or community amenities.